ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' Cowboy basketball team sunk the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders, winning 86-80 on Saturday afternoon in American Southwest Conference play to pull back even in the conference standings.
 
Hardin-Simmons entered the night 3-1 in ASC play after dropping a game at UMHB on Tuesday. The Crusaders entered 4-0 in conference play. After the Cowboy win, Cowboy head coach Matt Brackett's squad regained the top spot in the standings with both teams at 4-1 in the ASC.
 
Hardin-Simmons got out to a modest lead in the opening half before UMHB cut into it heading into the break, with HSU up 44-42 at halftime.
 
The Cowboys led by as many as 14 points in the second half before the Crusaders went on a tear to tie the game at 62-62 with ten minutes to go in the second half.
 
The scored was knotted at 70-70 with five minutes left before Hardin-Simmons went up 79-71 quickly, including a big dunk in traffic by Tyler Williams. Mary Hardin-Baylor refused to go away quietly, but the Cowboys locked down and made their free throws to clutch the win 86-80 over the ASC foe.
 
Chris Bryant led all scorers with 20 points for the Cowboys. He shot 7-of-15 and grabbed 11 rebounds against UMHB for a double-double.
 
Asher Fleming scored 18 points for HSU with three-made 3-point shots. Silas Davis finished with 14 points and Trevion Howell ended with 13 points in the win.
 
The Cowboys recognized three seniors before the game, DJ Jones, Trevion Howell, and Jamar Ingram.
 
Hardin-Simmons improved to 15-9 and 4-1 in the ASC on the season with the win and will finish the regular season at East Texas Baptist on Saturday Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. in Marshall, Texas.
 
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